12. Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What extra funding has the Government made available for medicines this year?
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) Link to this
I am pleased to confirm today that the Government has increased the funding for subsidised medicines by $40 million for the 2009-10 financial year. The increase is made up of $31 million for the community pharmaceutical budget managed by Pharmac, and $9 million extra for cancer medicines managed by the district health boards and the Ministry of Health, including Herceptin. It takes the total community pharmaceutical budget to $694 million. That is a huge increase at the time of the worst recession since the 1930s, and fulfils another election promise made by the Government.
What is Pharmac doing with this big increase in spending for medicines dispensed through community pharmacies and hospitals?
Pharmac advises me that planning on how the new community budget will be spent is well advanced. It includes new spending on medicines to treat cystic fibrosis, hepatitis B, leukaemia, auto-immune disorders, heart disease, and arthritis, and to support smoking cessation. It is a good first step forward in the Government’s aim to achieve better access to medicines for New Zealanders.
Hon Ruth DysonWhat additional funding for statins and insulin will be required as a direct result of his cancellation of obesity reduction programmes?
I think the member is hypothesising about what may or may not be the impact of things that may or may not be happening. I observe that the member was in a Government that cut the budget for chronic disease management, which affects some of the most vulnerable New Zealanders in this country, by $10 million. That Government also cut $26 million from public health promotion.